Axolotl celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2015

In July 1995, brothers Kris and Kim Torma launched Axolotl from the back of a one-car garage space in Redfern; it’s hard to picture a more humble beginning for the pioneering brand of semi-precious metal coating experts. Ten years after first setting up shop, glass was added to the range, and now a range of bespoke timber and concrete options supplements these design options.

Surviving a double hit of 2009’s global financial crisis and the revelation that the owners had been the embezzled by a manager, Axolotl were faced with lean times, yet as is often the case, out of austerity came creation. It was this crisis that saw Axolotl launch concrete, sheet metals, timber and terracotta surfaces into the range.

Once again, Axolotl’s range offered design innovators the chance to challenge the norm, and author the type of new concepts that drive them. In a somewhat lateral skew, Axolotl House, a sustainable mud brick home built by Kim was opened in the Hunter Valley as a bed and breakfast and in 2013, the company created furniture brand Anomaly, through a partnership with Evostyle.

The company’s latest innovation comes in the form of the 2014 launched Axolotl Art Projects, which promises to be a new resource for artists, developers and local governments to not only project manage art projects but to fabricate them.

This is just the next step in a 20-year journey for the company, and surely will not be the last.